Brunnette, Bartlett shine against some of nation's best

            WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Seniors Sam Brunnette (Newport Center, Vt.) and Warren Bartlett (Loudon, N.H.) turned in impressive performances as Plymouth State University finished 11th among a field of 16 of the top men's cross country programs in the region.

            Eight of the ten teams finishing ahead of the Panthers entered the meet with top-10 regional rankings, while seven were ranked among the top-30 nationally.

            Brunnette shined for the second straight week, finishing second overall in 25:50.0, while Bartlett turned in the best race of his career to place 14th in 26:28.6.

            The Basics:

            Purple Valley Classic – Plymouth State 11th of 16 teams

            How it Happened:

            * Sophomore Marcus Cryan (Topsfield, Mass.) was the third Panther finisher, ending up 112th overall in 28:16.6.

            * Junior Noah Byington (Hanscom AFB, Mass.) and sophomore Jared Wolf (Tyngsborough, Mass.) were the last two point scorers for PSU, finishing 153rd and 158th in 29:12.6 and 29:16.7, respectively.

            * Senior Chaim Tendler (Manchester, N.H.) and freshmen Matt Lyle (Loudon, N.H.) and Kyle Mau (Dover, N.H.) also competed for the Panthers.

            Inside the Numbers:

            * Brunnette finished less than six seconds off the pace of RPI's Sean O'Connor, who won the race in 25:44.7.

            * PSU finished fifth among nine teams in the sub varsity 5k race. Junior Hunter Zabkar (Lee, N.H.) was the top Panther finisher, placing 38th in 18:19.0.

            * Juniors Trevor Campbell (Coventry, R.I.) and Benjamin Platt (Manchester, N.H.) finished in 18:35.7 and 18:45.2 to take 49th and 55th, respectively.

            * Also competing in the sub varsity race were junior Nate Belanger (Newmarket, N.H.) and freshmen Ian Miller (Arlington, Mass.) and Ethan Goodreau (Spencer, Mass.).

            Straight from the Coach's Mouth:

            "I'm proud of our guys for the confidence they showed while running in such a talented field," said head coach John Ostler. "They didn't give an inch even though they were rubbing shoulders with national powerhouses."

            Up Next:

            * PSU will enjoy a weekend off before heading to Westfield State for the James Earley Invitational on Oct. 6. The sub varsity race is set to begin at 10:30 a.m., with varsity scheduled at 11:15 a.m.

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